How I Did It: A Kitchen Portrait Studio

Driving around town and seeing an abundant festival of pink cherry blossoms sprouting on (almost) every corner, I decided I needed to photograph the delightful florals. Necessity is, as they say, the mother of invention. On a whim, I turned my kitchen (and whole house, really) upside down.

Invention, indeed. I turned my kitchen into a portrait studio.

I couldn’t find a cherry tree on public property near enough a parking lot to make it accessible. And, for that matter, the blossoms were always just out of reach. I’m tall, but not that tall. Enter my gardening guru brother-in-law. I asked a simple question: “do you have any cherry trees on your farm?” The next thing I knew, I had a living room full of budding branches, waiting for the blossoms to burst forth. He’s talented, that one. Knew what I needed before I even articulated it. Almost a mind reader, really. My husband came to the rescue next. He found a gently used pallet, screwed in a couple 2 x 4’s for support, and created my very own flower box.

Once the buds bloomed, I had a living room full of branches AND petals (it’s a good thing I’m a talented floor-sweeping-machine and an extra good thing I don’t have allergies). I dragged my kitchen table and all four chairs into the living room, I muscled the pallet flower box into the kitchen, and I carried each branch of flowers from the living room to begin arranging my flower box. (Side note: being a photographer requires muscular ability and athleticism. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Branches and pallets are heavy!)

And there it was! My flower box full of tree branches against my blue kitchen wall, a window to the right and a lightbox to the left, a white floor to throw light up onto the flowers, and a white wall opposite to diffuse as desired.

It’s a small little box, this blue-walled-kitchen of mine.

But it worked, my little kitchen-turned-portrait-studio worked.

And I have proof.

Amazing what you can do with a pallet full of branches, an open window, and a softbox, isn’t it? And in a kitchen, no less.

P.S. The move from North Carolina, U.S.A. to British Columbia, Canada is complete and I’m open for business in the Lower Mainland! Want to know why I came to BC? Well, I went to Africa and met a Canadian and became a bride and roadtripped across the continent with my husband. Simple enough, eh? =)

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About Jennifer

Hi! I’m Jennifer and I’m a wedding photographer based in Abbotsford, BC serving the Fraser Valley.
I’ve photographed weddings for the last eight years and built my business while working a desk job and living in North Carolina. Since marrying a Canadian and moving to the Fraser Valley I’ve fallen in love with the perfect wedding backdrops: lovely winter raindrops, glorious Pacific Ocean sunsets, and magnificent evergreen mountaintops.

Why Jenni Marie Photography?

Jenni Marie Photography is for you if...

- Are in love with a great man
- Aren’t afraid of a little rain
- Want great photos filled with real life and emotions
- Know you are created in God’s image
- Love juxtaposing rugged adventure and femininity
- Celebrate marriage, not just the wedding day
- Don’t accept norms “just because”
- Think outside the box
- Believe in the beauty of a foggy day
- Find art in everyday life